Why do thrushes eat snails

The nests are made of dry plant stems with a smooth mud interior held together by saliva. A clutch of around four to six glossy blue eggs is laid, hatching around two weeks later. The parents will feed the chicks for the next fortnight, after which they can leave the nest but will still rely on the parents to feed them until they reach maturity. Song thrushes live in woodland, farmland, scrub, parks and gardens across the UK.

They favour anywhere with a good supply of trees and bushes to nest in. Record the comings and goings of key feathered friends and help scientists track the effects of climate change on wildlife. While the song thrush was once one of our most common birds, it is now unfortunately a red-listed species of conservation concern. The species has declined significantly since , particularly in farmland areas.

This is most likely due to habitat loss. Hedgerows, woodland and pasture are all valuable habitats for these birds; however, these are increasingly being lost due to changes in agricultural practices and woodland management. Song thrush. Appearance and behaviour Where to find them How to spot them Threats. Quick facts. Blue jays Cyanocitta cristata , crows Corvus sp , magpies Pica sp. Hawks and owls will also eat large snails as they find them.

Birds that live in aquatic habitats often hunt snails: great blue herons Ardea herodias and green herons Butorides virescins eagerly consume any they encounter while hunting the shores and shallows of marshes and wetlands. Additionally, ducks—including mallards Anas platyrhyncos , wood ducks Aix sponsa and ruddy ducks Oxyura jamaicensis —consume snails eagerly. Some birds specialize in hunting snails. Snail kites Rostrhamus sociabilis , which feed almost exclusively on apple snails Pomacea sp.

Inhabiting tropical swamps and wetlands from South America through Central America and into parts of Florida, snail kites fly over shallow water looking for their prey. Flying at heights of up to feet, snail kites swoop down and grab snails with their talons. They are able to extract the fleshy mollusks using their long and slender hooked beaks.

Knowing what thrushes eat is the best way to attract them to your garden and to get their numbers swelling. Thrushes are omnivorous. They enjoy most small invertebrates but their particular favourites are earthworms and snails. They love foraging through leaf piles for the vast array of insect life available there.

If you have an abundance of clover, you are more likely to see a feeding thrush as they enjoy eating under or close to it. Ants and larvae also complement their diet.

Caterpillars, beetles, moths, and earthworms feature heavily in their diet. However, when the ground is too hard for their beak to penetrate, the thrush will go on the hunt for snails.

During spring and early summer, thrushes spend most of the day foraging for insects on which they can feed their young.